The Fiber Manifesto–Part 2 of 5: The Many Types of Fiber

Throughout the research for my first book, I kept hitting on a recurring theme. Dietary fiber is essential for good health. But I also kept hitting on pieces of information that went contrary to conventional wisdom (even contrary to conventional Paleo wisdom). Tidbits like insoluble fiber is even more beneficial than soluble (in spite of the fact that the vast majority of studies only evaluate the benefits of soluble fiber). Even more mind-blowing for me was learning that the whole insoluble fiber being abrasive thing is a myth. In fact, the deeper I delved into this subject, the more information I learned that completely challenged everything I thought I knew about this non-essential nutrient. And, the more everything started to make much more sense too.

I have been working on this series of posts for six months and am finally ready to share this information with you. I have broken this immense topic into five posts. The first post summarized some the correlative and prospective studies that have been done showing the benefits of diets rich in dietary fiber. Now for some more details, about the subclasses of fiber:

Part 2: The Many Types of Fiber (and Some Myth-Busting)

Fiber is a carbohydrate present in the cell walls of plants that our bodies can’t digest. It provides us a variety of benefits through feeding probiotic bacteria in our digestive tracts, by binding with toxins, hormones, bile salts, cholesterol and other substances in the gut, by stimulating the release of some hormones (like ghrelin) and some neurotransmitters (like melatonin) and by adding bulk to the stool (benefits of fiber were discussed in more detail in Part 1 of this series).

Enrollment is Now OPEN!

I’m teaching the next session of my top-rated online course starting January 7th, 2019. Start the New Year off right by putting your health first! This intensive course will give you all the knowledge and tools!SAVE $100 with code ‘AIPLS100’

Carbohydrates, including fiber, are chains of monosaccharides (simple sugars) and of chemical derivatives of monosaccharides. Both the types of simple sugar (and their derivatives) in the chain and the ways they link together to form chains (both overall structure and the types of chemical bonds between sugar molecules) determine what type of carbohydrate it is. What separates fiber from other carbohydrates is that the way the sugars link together are not compatible with our digestive enzymes—our bodies just aren’t capable of breaking apart those types of molecular bonds.

Most of us are familiar with soluble and insoluble fiber, at least the terms if not the details of the definition. Broadly, soluble fiber are types of fiber that dissolve in water and insoluble fibers don’t. This greatly affects how they behave in the digestive tract.

Soluble fiber forms a gel-like material in the gut and tends to slow the movement of material through the digestive system. Soluble fiber is typically readily fermented by the bacteria in the colon (although not all soluble fibers are fermentable), producing gases and physiologically active by-products (like short-chain fatty acids and vitamins).

Insoluble fiber tends to speed up the movement of material through the digestive system. Fermentable insoluble fibers also produce gases and physiologically active by-products (like short-chain fatty acids and vitamins). Nonfermentable insoluble fiber increases stool bulk by absorbing water as it moves through the digestive tract (which is believed to be very beneficial in regulating bowel movements and managing constipation).

Within these two broad categories, there are actually many different types of fiber, classified based on the types of simple sugars and other components they are made from, the types of bonds between sugars, and the overall structure of the molecule. The major classes of fiber will be discussed in more detail below, but this is how they divide among the soluble versus insoluble categories:

Depending on the food in question, some foods have more insoluble fiber types and some have more soluble.

However, classifying a fiber as either soluble or insoluble is only one way to describe a particular fiber. They can also be classified based on whether or not they are fermentable (if they are, they are considered to be “prebiotics”, which just means that they are food for the bacteria that live in our digestive tracts). While soluble fibers have the reputation of being the fermentable fibers, there are plenty of types of insoluble fiber which are fermentable as well and even some types of soluble fiber which aren’t fermentable (or are only weakly fermentable). Fibers can also be classified based on whether or not they are viscous, meaning how thick they are when they mix with water and other substances in your digestive tract (this classification is used to classify soluble fibers because insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water). Many of the health benefits of soluble fiber are specific to high viscosity fibers (more on this in part 3). Functional fiber is the term for an isolated fiber used as a supplement.

The fibers discussed in more detail below can also be categorized based on whether or not they are fermentable:

You might be surprised to see that most types of fiber are actually fermentable (some more readily than others, of course)… not just soluble fiber. I want to point this out because it’s a myth that soluble fiber is “the fermentable kind of fiber”.

Health Hackers f(x) Summit

Learn from the industry’s leaders about biohacking tools, little-known tricks and deep-healing protocols to optimize your health and performance and give you an edge as you supercharge your life.

Don’t miss this online educational summit from November 26 to December 2, 2018.

As already mentioned, there are actually many types of fiber (which are then either lumped into the soluble or insoluble categories or lumped into the fermentable or nonfermentable categories). And, it turns out that if you want to understand what types of fiber (or whole food sources of fiber) are most beneficial for you, you actually need to go into far more detail than just whether a fiber is soluble or insoluble.

The main classes of fiber:

Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls. Celluloses are identical to starch in the sense that they are long straight chains of glucose molecules (anywhere from several hundred to over ten thousand glucose molecules long), however the links between the glucose molecules are different than starch (they are in what is called a beta configuration) which make cellulose indigestible to humans. Celluloses are insoluble dietary fibers. The bacteria in your intestinal tract cannot ferment most cellulose particularly well (although cellulose is partially fermentable). Cellulose is found in all plants, but foods that contain particularly large amounts of cellulose include bran, legumes, nuts, peas, root vegetables, celery, broccoli, peppers, cabbage and other substantial leafy greens like collards, and apple skins.

Hemicellulose is a common component of the cell walls of plants. In contrast to cellulose, hemicellulose is made of several types of sugar in addition to glucose, especially xylose but also mannose, galactose, rhamnose, and arabinose. Rather than forming long straight chains like cellulose, hemicellulose may have side chains and branches. Because of these variations, some hemicelluloses are soluble in water and some are insoluble, plus some forms are fermented by bacteria while others are not. Hemicellulose is particularly high in bran, nuts, legumes and whole grains as well as many green and leafy vegetables.

Pectin is soluble in water and highly fermentable (very little passes through to the colon since it is so readily fermented by bacteria in the small intestine). Pectins are rich in the sugar are rich in galacturonic acid and can be found in several types of configurations (further subdividing this class of fibers by structure). Pectins are found in all fruits and vegetables but are particularly rich in certain fruits, including apples and citrus fruits, and are also found in legumes and nuts.

Lignin is a type of fiber with lots of branches made of chemicals called phenols (rather than sugar molecules). Phenols are currently being studied for a variety of health-related effects including antioxidant actions (for example, it is the phenolic compounds in olive oil that appear to be responsible for its cardiovascular health benefits). Lignin is unusual because it lacks an overall defining structure. Instead, it consists of various types of substructures that appear to repeat in a haphazard manner. Lignins are insoluble and are not fermentable. Most commonly a component of wood, food sources include root vegetables, vegetable filaments (like the stems of leafy greens and the strings in celery), many green, leafy vegetables, wheat and the edible seeds of fruit (such as berry seeds and kiwi seeds).

An aside: Hemicellulose, cellulose, and pectin bind together to from a network of cross-linked fibers and together form the cell wall of most plant cells. Lignin fills the spaces in the cell wall between cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin components. You get some form of all four of these whenever you eat any plant-based food.

Chitin is similar to cellulose in the sense that it is made of long chains of glucose (in the case of chitin, it’s actually long chains of a particular derivative of glucose called N-acetylglucosamine) and also has amino acids attached. Chitins are insoluble in water and are fermentable, albeit weakly. Chitin is interesting because this fiber is found not only in plants and fungi but also in the exoskeletons of insects and in the shells of crustaceans.

Chitosan is similar to chitin in the sense that is composed of a long chain of N-acetylglucosamine molecules, but it also contains randomly distributed D-glucosamine molecules (like cellulose, linked in a beta configuration). Chitosans are naturally found in the cell walls of fungi but are also produced as a functional fiber by treating shrimp and other crustacean shells with sodium hydroxide. Chitosan is a very unique fiber. It is soluble in acidic environments so it starts its journey through the digestive tract as a soluble fiber in the stomach, but when the acidity of the chime (stomach contents) is neutralized in the small intestine (by pancreatic secretions), it becomes insoluble. It is also fermentable (much moreso than chitin).

Gums are a diverse group of fibers that plants secrete when they are damaged. They are very complex molecules that contain a variety of types of sugars as well as acids, proteins, and minerals. Gums are soluble and highly viscous fibers and are also fermentable. Isolated (functional fiber) versions are used in food manufacturing as thickening and gelling agents (like guar gum and xanthum gum). Some gums used in food manufacturing increase intestinal permeability through an action on the tight junctions between epithelial cells (one of those cases of the isolated concentrated compound being a problem but the small amount naturally occurring in whole foods being fine).

Beta-glucans (more technically Beta(1,3)-glucans) are closely related to gums and are also soluble (a minority are insoluble), viscous and fermentable. They are found in some grains (mainly oats and barley, but also rye and wheat), fungi (yeast and mushrooms, particularly those mushrooms that are used medicinally like shiitake and maitake), and some types of seaweed (mainly algae). Beta-glucans are the fiber in oats that are mainly responsible for the cholesterol lowering properties of oats (more on this in part 4 of this series) and, as functional fibers in supplement form, are also known to activate the immune system and may even act as an adjuvant (that could be helpful if you’re battling cancer but definitely not good if you have an immune or autoimmune disease).

Mucilages are rich in the simple sugars xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose and have very complex structures. They are soluble and very viscous fibers, forming a thick gluey substance, and are produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms. They are particularly concentrated in cacti and other succulents (like aloe), many types of seaweed (like agar agar algae), flax, chia and psyllium. They can also be found in relatively large amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables, including plantains, bananas, taro root, cassava, and berries. While soluble, mucilages are not particularly fermentable (only partially degraded by bacteria in our digestive tracts). Mucilagenous extracts are often used medicinally, and many of these extracts are known immune modulators or stimulators.

Fructans are fructose rich soluble and highly fermentable fibers with simple structures (long chains, some with branches–like the fructose equivalent of cellulose). Shorter chain fructans are called fructooligosaccharides, whereas longer chain fructans are called inulins. Inulin fiber is one of the most heavily studied functional fibers. They are naturally occurring in a variety of plants including chicory, onions, and Jerusalem artichoke (see FODMAPs).

Resistant starch is really starch (also sometimes called oligosaccharides) and doesn’t fit the original technical definition of fiber, which was limited to plant cell wall constituents. Resistant starch is considered to be a fiber because amylase, the enzyme that breaks starch into individual glucose units, doesn’t work on this type of starch. Resistant starch is insoluble yet highly fermentable. Green bananas, green plantains, potatoes and legumes are all sources of resistant starch (particularly when eaten raw).

Phewf. Would you believe that these are only the major classes of fiber?

Most of these types of fiber can be further divided into sub-sub classes of fiber. They are almost all found to some degree in almost all plants, so when you eat whole vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, you’re getting a mix of many of these. You’re also getting different forms: the cellulose in an apple peel is different than the cellulose in cabbage and this may have a slightly different effect in your digestive tract (like so many things in biology/physiology/nutrition, the details have yet to be worked out).

So now that we understand the complex world of dietary fiber, we can have some real fun! Stay tuned….

Boost Your Nutrition with Veggies!

Each serving of Dr. Sarah Ballantyne’s Collagen Veggie Blend contains 2 servings of whole organic vegetables, 1/2 serving of high-antioxidant organic fruit, and 10 grams of protein from collagen peptides! It stirs easily into water and is 100% AIP! You can now choose from 20oz or 10oz.

About Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Award-winning public speaker, New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned health expert, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD (aka The Paleo Mom) believes the key to reversing the current epidemics of chronic disease is scientific literacy. She creates educational resources to help people regain their health through diet and lifestyle choices informed by the most current evidenced-based scientific research.

In last a few months I’ve started to have constipation while on diet between strict Paleo and AIP diets. I wasn’t having any fermented foods or seriously prebiotic foods like jerusalem artichoke or probiotics, so I thought playing with the microbiota might help and I tried started to eat jerusalem artichokes. Constipation is slightly gone but I had excess gas after the last time I ate about a handful of steamed jerusalem artichokes and I didn’t eat it for a day or two and ate half of one peace of steamed jersualem artichoke again and it gave me gas that I’m not used to have again, though not too much. There are many other fodmap avoids in my diet and I don’t have a problem with any of them. I wonder if it may be a sign of starting to develop SIBO and what I should do with jerusalem artichokes and if there are any other advices that I can benefit from. There is no dairy free probiotic food that I can have and I wanna stay dairy free. I eat about 3 cups of vegetables and about a handful of dried fruits and some fresh fruit with not more than 10 grams of fructose in total, such as a small apple which provide me my daily intake of fiber. One cup of the vegetables come from black carrots, red beets and pumpkins and another cup from cauliflower and red cabbage which also has some lemon with rind and the last cup is raw spinach; I also eat about half of a big lemon with rind and some garlic that goes with some fish, typically. I really don’t have more time to eat something more, except in the evening.
Also, I’ve recently read in Chris Kresser’s site about Jeff Leach, a co-founder of American Gut Project whose diet is grain free but not legume or other thing free if I got it right and he also does not eat fermented foods but he eats about 50 to 150 grams of fiber and he says he has more Lactobacillus than people that consume lots of fermented foods. Chris says he suggests 4 tablespoons of raw potato starch to people with insulin and leptin resistance and are decided to keep a very low carb or ketogenic diet and Jeff says it’s great advice in response. Here it is:http://chriskresser.com/you-are-what-your-bacteria-eat-the-importance-of-feeding-your-microbiome-with-jeff-leach
Anything to say about it ? Can raw potato starch be included in AIP ? Is there a kind of person that gets joint pains from nightshades that should include raw potato starch in his/her diet ? Is there a thing that can be used instead of raw potato starch that is AIP compliant ?

Diet is actually the most important thing for correcting gut bacteria (not probiotis) and the two most important diet factors are omega-3 intake and insoluble fiber (low fructose helps too). Resistant starch is an insoluble fiber, but studies don’t separate it out very often when looking at effects on the gut microbiome and the evidence for high resistant starch intake is still mostly anecdotal. I feel uncomfortable suggesting potato starch for anyone with autoimmune disease, but you can get resistant starch from green plantains and green bananas…

My friend’s doctor told her there was nothing she could do food-wise to help her colitis. I eat Paleo and have never had that issue so didn’t know exactly how to advise her. Should I send her this series of posts on fiber? When I put in “colitis” in the search box, these came up. Thanks for your help!!!

I do have a question though, do you think that different people require certain fibres for their digestive system?

I’ve had IBS C issues since going Paleo, but my asthma, hayfever and skin have all improved tremendously.

I find that oats rice keep me regular more than anything that’s Paleo. I’ve tried to replicate the soluble fibre in oats by increasing the amount carrots, potatos etc that I consume, but it doesn’t do the trick.

I wonder if maybe the reduction in Beta Glucans has helped my skin/asthma/allergies, but has caused me to be backed up?

It’s possible. There’s some thought that each person’s ideal microbiome is as unique as our DNA, which could imply that the optimal diet for our gut bacteria is also unique. How do you do with more berries and apples (similar fiber to oats)?

I find that berries are fine in small amounts, but don’t make a real difference either way; apples can make things a bit worse and cause bloating which I think is to do with the fodmap content.

It’s funny, I tried a low fiber-low carb diet for a few weeks and felt amazing (light, no bloating, full of energy), but my digestion seemed to have halted. It’s as if the rest of my body wants a different diet to my stomach flora.

Oats have been a staple of my diet for years when I was on a conventially healthy diet, so maybe I’m conditioned for them.

Hello there I just ran into this blog post and was curious if you’re still staying off oats and staying completely Paleo. I noticed since I did Paleo i became very constipated I had Oatmeal one day and It cleared me out!making me question bringing it back in but definitely soaking them the night before helps with gut issues.

Sarah, I just finished reading all five posts on fiber (such awesome posts!). I was hoping there would be some guidance on type(s) of fiber (and food sources) depending on symptoms, ailment, etc. Perhaps this is outlined in The Paleo Approach? Thanks again – really enjoyed reading these posts!

As a general rule of thumb, soluble fiber is in soft produce like raspberries and insoluble is in tougher produce (or the tough skins of soft produce) like zucchini. Both types are essential and eating an adequate amount of a variety of produce (at least 9 cups is recommended) will have you covered. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant

Some people are able to follow a less strict Paleo diet (commonly referred to as 80/20 Paleo). If that’s you, then whatever works for you is fine. If you are having any health problems, you might prefer a Paleo pasta alternative like kelp noodles, spaghetti squash, or other vegetable-based noodles. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant

Thanks for the article! My young son has celiac and SIBO-C that we can’t get rid of, so I’m especially interested in how these fibers impact SIBO. I know that gums are a big problem for him, as they cause pain. But the others are all a big ? In my mind. Different experts recommend different things regarding fibers. I hope as research is available that you might consider adding info to your articles about SIBO.

It’s on the list of posts that need more research and updates. The research that’s been done so far definitely seems to indicate that a low FODMAP approach is the best for SIBO though. But beyond avoiding FODMAPS there is no evidence that avoiding insoluble fiber rich foods will help with recovery. -Kiersten

My friend’s doctor told her there was nothing she could do food-wise to help her colitis. I eat Paleo and have never had that issue so didn’t know exactly how to advise her. Should I send her this series of posts on fiber? When I put in “colitis” in the search box, these came up. Thanks for your help!!!

Log In

Login

Site Footer

Disclaimer: The majority of the links in ThepaleoMom.com posts and sidebar are affiliate program links. This means that (most of the time) when you purchase a product linked from my site, I receive a commission.